[Vwdiesel] Head Gasket

[William J Toensing]

I had a blown head gasket on my 1981 Dasher diesel which was unusual. The exaust port had blowen to the outside but I suspect yours is either ingesting coolent into the engine , exausting exaust gas into the cooling system, or both. If you see any black sludge in the cooling system in is a sign of a blowen head gasket. Overheating can cause the head to warp & blow a head gasket. Borrow or buy streight edge to see if the head & or block is warped. As I recall, if it is warped over 5,000 of an inch it should be resurfaced, although if warped too mush, if may not be useable. I am not an expert so if anyone disagrees with me, take their advise, not mine. However, I would think there is a good chance you won't have to overhaul the whole engine, if it was sound before your son overheated it. My stepdaughter did the same to my diesel Rabbit & destroyed the engine.